Snowflakes and Moonbeams
by x Frostbite x
Summary: When Luna decided to go for a walk in the woods one snowy winter morning, she never expected to find Jack Frost, the young winter spirit who just wants to have some fun. Soon, a wonderful friendship blossoms between the two teens. But Pitch is still out there, lurking in the shadows. And no one holds a grudge better than the Boogeyman.
1. Chapter 1

Luna slipped on her gray coat and walked out her back door. She stopped for just a moment to take in the beautiful snowy landscape before stepping into the woods. It was December first- the first snow day of the year. And Luna planned on taking advantage of it.

As she ventured through the forest on her favorite path, a light snow began to fall. Luna stopped and smiled. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cold winter air. She could have stood there for hours. Winter always had been and always would be her favorite season. Luna bent down and scooped up a handful of snow. It felt great. She rested it in her hand for a few moments, but (as usual) it didn't melt in her icy grip.

She continued to walk, her worn sneakers trudging through the sparkling snow. Then something caught her eye. A flash of blue. Luna turned her head in the general direction of the blur. To her surprise, she saw a boy. He was standing several yards away and held a tall, hooked object that Luna couldn't identify from a distance. He appeared to have... white hair? Luna watched as the boy tapped a tree with the hooked object and a white frost swirled up the trunk. Her eyes widened. She was frozen in place, unblinking. The boy laughed, then turned his head Luna's way. He seemed slightly shocked to see her. He slowly made his way over to her.

The boy stood right in front of her, yet he leaned his neck in until his face was only inches from hers. Luna's eyes got even bigger. She studied his face; pale white skin, the faintest hint of freckles, and glistening blue eyes.

While she memorized every detail of his face, he did the same with hers. Light skin- nearly as pale as his own. Large, brown eyes with bright blue rings around the pupils. Long, dark lashes. Tons of freckles and dark lips. Brown and blonde curls down to her waist. They stood and stared at each other for a moment.

"Can you see me?" the boy asked, breaking their silence. Luna, who hadn't moved a muscle since she first saw the boy, nodded. A crooked smile spread across the mysterious boy's face. He chuckled. It was the sort of laugh that makes you trust someone. Luna relaxed a bit.

"Is that how you usually start a conversation?" Luna said, one eyebrow raised.

"With someone your age? Most definitely," he said.

"My age? And what are you, about nine months older than me?" Luna countered. The boy smiled.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked. Luna looked him over. A blue hoodie with... frost?...around the neck and sleeves. Tattered brown pants. Spiked white hair. But most interestingly, no shoes. Luna looked the boy straight in the eye.

"It's absolutely impossible and totally illogical, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say I'm speaking to Jack Frost."

"I'd say you're right," said Jack. "And your name is...?"

"Luna."

"Well then," Jack said, holding out his right hand. "Nice to meet you." Luna shook his hand, pausing when she noticed that it felt like she was holding a snowball.

"Does this by any chance just happen to be some cruel joke?" Luna said with a smile.

"What do you think?" said Jack as he hovered several inches above the ground.

"I think I'm just crazy enough to believe in made-up things like Jack Frost, even at age fifteen."

"Obviously, or else you wouldn't be able to see me right now," said Jack.

"So then that's true? That you can only see if you believe?"

"Yep. So how exactly _can_ you see me? You're a little old, don't you think?"

"I tend to live in my own impossible fantasies more than I live in the real world," she said matter-of-factly.

"I'm in your fantasies?" Jack teased. Luna's cheeks turned slightly pink, but her expression didn't change.

"Of course. After all, you _are _the personification of my favorite season."

"Oh, I'm flattered," Jack said, touching his chest and tilting his head to the side. He closed his eyes and straightened his back. "I am pretty great, huh?" he said jokingly.

"Yeah, you're wonderful," Luna said as she sent a snowball flying into his face. He looked at her, and a devilish grin danced across his lips.

"You'll pay for that. Soon you'll be bowing down to my awesome snowball fighting skills."

"You clearly don't know what you're up against," Luna smirked. Jack made a snowball out of thin air and threw it. Luna got a face-full of snow. "I hope you know that this means war."

"That's what I was hoping for," Jack laughed. Within seconds, there were snowballs flying in all directions. They stayed out in the woods for hours. Snowball fights, sliding down hills penguin-style, and an enormous snowman filled their day. When they finally sat down for a rest, Luna judged it to be sometime after noon.

"Oh. I should probably get home. My sister will be wondering where I am."

"You have a sister?" Jack asked, thinking of his own sister who was long gone by now.

"Yeah. She's two years older than me."

"Oh. Why didn't she come out with you?"

"She's not really an outdoorsy kind of person. And she doesn't like the cold. No offense." Luna stood up and smoothed out her coat. Her hair was dripping with melted snow.

"None taken," Jack said as he stood up. "We should do this again," Jack said with a smile, which Luna returned.

"Well, I'll tell you what. Tomorrow's Friday, and if you give me another snow day, we can."

"Deal. How's 9 o'clock?"

"Perfect. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."


	2. Chapter 2

The quiet music of Luna's alarm clock stirred her out of her Jack-infested dreams. She turned on her rarely-used television and clicked to the news. Jack had stayed true to his word. When Luna's school name flashed across the screen with the word CLOSED printed beneath it, she giggled to herself.

After laying in bed for another half an hour to try and get some extra sleep (with no success), Luna got up and made some toast. Her dog Phoebe begged with her best innocent puppy face, and Luna happily shared. She watched a bit of television with her mom, who then set off to work. Luna looked at the clock. Six forty-seven. What would she do for the next couple of hours? The answer: sit and doodle her newest friend in her notebook. She was actually a pretty good artist.

When at last the clock read eight fifty, Luna pulled on her coat and said goodbye to Phoebe. Thankful that her sister Angie was still asleep, Luna slipped out the back door and up the same path she had taken the day before. Upon reaching her destination, Luna had to wait only a few short moments before Jack appeared in front of her.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked.

"Well we could always build a family for our snowman. He looks sort of lonely."

"Sounds great!" Jack exclaimed.

One snow wife and two snow children later, the duo sat on a fallen tree and stared out into the snow. Neither of them said anything for a while. Until...

"Jack? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I just need to know. What is it like to fly?"

"To fly?" Jack repeated.

"Yes. All my life, I've been dreaming about flying. Is it as good as it sounds?"

"...Do you really want to know?" Jack replied.

"With all my heart."

"Well then... Hold on tight!" Jack yelled as he took Luna's hands in his own and flung her onto his back. He took off into the sky, laughing. Luna hooked her arms around his neck instinctively. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung slightly ajar. The wind whipped through her untamable curls and kissed her cheeks. She laughed. Softly at first, almost a gasp. It then evolved into a wild eruption of laughter. Jack added his chuckles to Luna's, and together they filled the skies.

They soared high above the snow-covered pine trees. Luna's mind flooded with a thousand different thoughts and emotions. This... This was what she had wanted her entire life. And Jack had given it to her. She hugged her arms tighter around his neck. Not because she was afraid of falling, but to thank Jack for making her dream come true. Luna let out a long, loud scream of joy that echoed all around them.

Jack landed them in a tall pine tree who-knows-how-far-away from Luna's home. Luna was absolutely ecstatic on the inside, which showed in her wild eyes and smile.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Jack, twirling his staff. "Was it fun?"

"It was even more magnificent than I'd ever imagined," she mused. Jack smiled. He loved her choice of words. He had noticed that she liked to use long, descriptive words. He knew she didn't do it to sound smart or fancy. She was simply... poetic.

Jack and Luna stayed up in the tree for a long time. They talked about flying and sledding and their favorite dreams. It was wonderful.

"Well, we should probably get you home," Jack said. Luna didn't want to, but she agreed. She directed Jack to her house, savoring every gust of cold wind that blew into her face. They landed in front of Luna's house, and Jack looked up at it in wonder.

"Nice house," he said. "It looks like the kind of house you would live in."

"Thanks."

"So... You want to get together tomorrow?" Jack asked, hoping she would say yes.

"I'd like that," said Luna.

"Great! So 9 again?"

"Sure." The two said their goodbyes and parted ways. Three hours later, Luna started to sneeze and got a mild headache.


	3. Chapter 3

At nine o'clock the next morning, Jack stood in the woods, waiting for Luna. When nine fifteen came around and she still wasn't there, Jack started to get anxious. But it was Saturday: maybe she just slept in. At nine forty-eight, Jack was very worried.

He flew down to Luna's house and peeked into a window. He was surprised to see Luna looking back at him, her chin resting in her hand. Her huge eyes lit up at the sight of her friend and she smiled apologetically. After taking a look around to make sure no one was there, Luna motioned to the back door. Jack nodded and flew to it. Luna gently opened the door and let him in. She closed it behind him as silently as she could, but her mother had just walked out from a hallway and saw her.

"What are you up to?" Luna's mom said in the same tone she always used when Luna was up to no good (which was almost all the time!). Luna panicked for a second, and then realized that her mom couldn't see Jack.

"Just... getting some air." She sounded funny. Kind of nasally.

"Please, just stay inside today. I don't want you to get any worse than you already are."

"Okay. I'll just go watch a movie or something."

"Thank you." Jack noticed that Luna's mother was beautiful.

Luna grabbed Jack by the wrist and dragged him up some stairs, but not before he caught a glimpse of the wonderfully-decorated Christmas tree in the living room.

"Where are we going?" asked Jack as they walked up the steps.

"My room," Luna whispered. When they reached the second floor, Jack saw four doors. Two of them led to bedrooms, one to a bathroom, and the fourth was closed. Luna was pulling him in the direction of the closed door, when a blonde-haired girl walked out of a bedroom and ran right into Luna. She was very pretty.

"Ugh! Watch where you're going!" she hissed as she walked past them. It was Angie. She looked almost exactly like Luna's mom. They were both tall and perfectly built with short golden hair and glassy blue eyes. Stunningly glamorous. But Jack preferred Luna's enchanted forest princess beauty over her relatives' super model beauty.

Luna turned the knob of the closed door and pulled it open. A few more stairs. At the top of them: Luna's room. The room consisted of a bunk bed, a small television and DVD player on a dresser, a desk covered in notebooks and loose doodles, a huge, overflowing bookshelf, and a telescope at the window. There were stuffed animals and knick-knacks all around.

"Nice," Jack said.

"Well, it's not perfect, but it's got a great view," she said as she moved to the window. She clicked it open and stepped out onto the roof outside, with Jack right behind her. She sat at the very edge and looked out at the snow.

"You got that right," said Jack.

"This is the kitchen, under here," said Luna, lightly patting the roof beside her. "I like to sit out here and write."

"You write?" Jack asked. Luna nodded.

"It's how I keep myself sane. Or at least close to it." After admiring the view for a few minutes, Jack and Luna crawled back through the window.

"Look, I'm really sorry I didn't come out today. I got sick and my mom wouldn't let me go outside. I guess that's what I get for not wearing a hat."

"I'm so sorry!"

"No Jack, it's not your fault." Jack left it at that. He didn't care to talk about how he always made people sick. That's when he saw a silver glint on Luna's chest. A thin chain. He reached over and pulled it up. A small, round pendant rose from her shirt. It was black with a picture of a full moon on it.

"The moon?"

"Yeah. I think it's so pretty. That's the moon I was born under. Completely full."

"Hmmm..." Jack studied the necklace. He liked it. He really _really_ liked it.

"When's your birthday?" he asked.

"December 24th," she replied.

"Christmas Eve baby, huh?"

"That's me."

"I'll have to tell North that. He'll like it."

"North?"

"Yeah... you know... Santa?"

"Santa? Seriously? You know him?" she said with glittering eyes.

"Of course. North, Sandy, Tooth, Bunny, and I are all Guardians. We protect the children of the world."

"Wow..."

"When you're better I'll take you to meet all of them."

"Really?!"

"Sure! I think they'll like you." After a few minutes of discussing the Guardians and what they do, Luna asked,

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Yeah," Jack said happily. He had never seen a movie before, and he was sure that Luna would have some good ones.

"Which one do you want to watch?" she asked, gesturing to a row of movies on her bookshelf. Jack looked them over. There were many colorful, fun-looking films. He didn't know where to start.

"Which one's your favorite?" he said, unsure of what to pick. Luna immediately reached up and pulled out a movie from the middle of the collection. It had a picture of three people, a dog, a house, an airplane, a giraffe, and the tail of a lion on it. Interesting.

"Okay, get it started!" _This should be fun._

…..

Jack loved the movie. It was his kind of story, and he understood why Luna loved it so much.

Luna and Jack spent that whole day together in Luna's room. They watched a few more movies, but Jack definitely liked the first one the most. At about ten o'clock that night, Luna fell asleep in the top bunk of her bed, with Jack's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Then, a stream of golden sand squeezed through the cracks under the window and swirled above Luna's head for a moment before shaping itself into a beautiful golden bird. Jack watched as the bird soared above Luna in large circles. He smiled. When he noticed the time, he gently slid his arm out from beneath his friend.

"Good night, Luna," he whispered as he went to the window and let himself out. He took a running start off the roof and flew into the night.

…..

A tall, thin man stepped out of the shadows in Luna's bedroom. He was tall enough to easily look upon the face of the girl sleeping in the bunk bed. He stared at her in disgust with his gray-yellow eyes. The dreamsand bird still flapped its wings above her head. A wicked smile curled across the man's face as he touched his fingertip to the bird, spreading black sand over it. He let out a small, evil chuckle. The girl's face twisted into a scowl and she turned over in her sleep. As she did so, the nearly all-black bird shifted into the shape of a deer, returning to its original color and continuing to frolic around her head. The man gasped slightly and backed into a corner, disappearing in the shadows.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next two weeks, Jack and Luna became best friends.

Luna's cold went away after a few days, much to her delight. That meant she could play in the snow! Unless, of course, she was in school. Each day, she found it harder and harder to pay attention in class. She constantly stared out the window, thinking about Jack and what the other Guardians might be like. On Friday, December 15th, Luna walked out of her school and saw none other than Jack Frost walking across a power line.

"Jack!" she yelled. The winter spirit perked up and floated down to meet her. She smiled at him, ignoring the stares of her peers who already thought she was insane when she _didn't _talk to people that no one else could see.

"Need a ride home?" he asked.

"Sure." Luna had just planned on riding the bus. Angie usually drove her home, but she had contracted Luna's cold and stayed home that day. So after they were out of sight, Jack pulled Luna onto his back and took off..

The fly home was much too short for Luna's taste. She loved the thrill of flying. And she loved being with Jack. When they landed in front of Luna's house, she couldn't help but be a bit disappointed.

"Hey, I have a surprise for you later," said Jack.

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you! Just be ready to go at nine tonight."

"Okay. See you tonight."

"Yep. Bye."

…..

It seemed to take forever, but it was finally eight fifty-six. Luna sat at her desk, drawing centaurs in her notebook to pass the time. She heard a light tapping on her window. She turned and saw that the glass had been totally frosted over. She went over and let Jack in.

"Hey Snowdrop," he said, using the nickname he had given to her. Jack lifted up the little moon necklace that Luna wore every day. "I seriously love this thing," he said for the thirteenth time that week.

"I know. What are we doing?"

"Look," Jack said as he reached into his bulging hoodie pocket. He pulled out a big snowglobe. "This is one of North's magic snowglobes."

"Oooh. What does it do?"

"It can take you anywhere you want to go. Are you ready to meet the Guardians?"

"Yes!" Luna replied with a smile that could chase off every shadow on the planet.

"You might wanna grab those," Jack said, pointing to the coat, hat, gloves, and scarf that were flung over the desk chair. Luna gathered the gear in her arms.

"Ready!"

"All right! To North's workshop," he said to the snowglobe. An image of a giant, snow-covered building appeared in the glass ball. He threw it to the floor and a kaleidoscopic portal formed. Jack gestured to it as if to say "after you", and Luna stepped into the strange doorway, followed by Jack. They felt an odd spinning sensation for a few moments, then the portal spit them out onto a hard wood floor. Luna stood up and Jack put a hand on her shoulder, smiling brightly. Luna found herself looking at a large man with a white beard and a red shirt. She didn't have to ask who he was.

"Hello!" the man bellowed. "How are you, Luna?" he said as he stomped over and shook her hand. Luna never knew that Santa had a Russian accent!

"Great! How are you?"

"Terrific!" North's eyes were bright and sparkly. "My name is North."

"Nice to meet you," Luna said. Then a woman with wings and beautiful feathers buzzed over and shook her hand vigorously.

"Hi! I'm Tooth!" she said enthusiastically.

"I'm Luna," she smiled back. She didn't seem to be at all affected by the fact that Tooth was half bird.

"OOOOH! Look how white her teeth are!" Tooth exclaimed, pulling up Luna's lips to get a better look. "And they're so straight! Come look at them!"

"Tooth! Calm down! Don't wanna scare her off, do ya?" said a giant rabbit with an Australian accent. Luna's eyes were so lit up, they were like flashlights. She shook Bunny's hand as he introduced himself. Jack was sort of impressed. She wasn't freaking out at all. She acted like rabbits that were taller than her were the norm. But maybe in her head, they were. Then a small, golden man came over and waved and shook her hand.

"This is Sandy," Jack said.

"Hello Sandy," Luna said happily. Sandy smiled. "I can't believe I'm here," Luna breathed. "I mean it's so... magical!" Then she heard a tiny, squeaky noise, and a little version of Tooth zipped toward her face. She had one violet eye and one blue eye.

"And this is Baby Tooth- one of Tooth's helpers," Jack explained. Baby Tooth did a little curtsy. She was so cute!

"So Luna," came Tooth's voice. "Jack has told us a lot about you."

"Yeah. You're _all _he's talked about, actually," said Bunny with a little smirk. Jack shot him a dirty look, his cheeks burning red. Luna giggled.

That day could not have been better. She got a full tour of North's workshop, after all! The Guardians were fantastic, and Luna loved them all. And the yetis were awesome!

Once they had reached the top of the workshop and the tour was complete, Luna looked down over the balcony at the enormous globe in the center of the shop.

"What do the lights mean?" she asked.

"They are children. Children who believe in us." said North.

"It's so gorgeous," Luna said dreamily.

"Yeah," Jack said as he looked at Luna. Then, he looked to the others. Bunny was talking to Sandy, Tooth was hurriedly giving out addresses to her fairies, and North had gone to constructively criticize some of the yetis' work. No one was looking.

"Hey. You wanna have some fun?" Luna nodded. Jack grabbed a sled from one of the shelves that the yetis kept finished gifts on. He sat it down on the floor and motioned for Luna to sit on it. She obeyed.

"Here we go!" Jack yelled. The Guardians turned around just in time to see Jack flying away, leaving a trail of ice behind him. And Luna was following him on a sled at a _very _high speed. Tooth squeaked, Sandy smiled, North laughed, and Bunny just looked irritated.

Jack led Luna all through the workshop, dodging yetis and elves and anything else that was in their way. They both screamed and laughed the whole time. Jack even made a pair of ramps so the sled would do a loop.

Sandy, North, Bunny, and Tooth met them on the bottom floor of the workshop. Luna got off the sled, laughing hysterically.

"That...was...EPIC! Did you _see_ that?! Oh my gosh, that was the best sled ride EVER!" Luna ran a hand through her thick hair, breathing heavily. Jack leaned on his staff and laughed. It made him feel great to know that he could bring that much joy to another kid.

"Oh that was nothing!" North chuckled. "Come on, everyone! To the sleigh!"

"Wait, does he mean, like, _the _sleigh?" Luna asked Sandy, pulling on her coat and hat. He simply nodded with a wide grin. As they started to leave, Tooth noticed that a member of their group was missing. She turned to find Bunny, standing by himself with a worried expression on his face.

"You coming?" Tooth purred.

"Mmm... I don't think so. I'll just sit this one out."

"Come on. It'll be fun!" she said, grabbing his paw and pulling.

…..

When Luna first saw the sleigh, she felt like she was in a dream. It was different than she'd imagined, but it was great. And the reindeer were breathtaking. Everyone hopped in and took a seat, save for Jack and Luna, who were too excited to sit. Once North had forced Bunny into the contraption, they started moving. They sped through a long tunnel of ice. Luna stood in the sleigh, leaning over the side with a smile on her face. She held on and screamed with happiness when they did the loopty-loops. When they finally took to the skies, Luna was leaning so far over the edge to get a good look at everything that Jack was afraid she would fall out. Luna heard a little whimper and turned to see who made it. It wasn't hard to figure out. There was Bunny, digging his rabbit claws into the seat on either side of him.

"You okay, Bunny?" she called.

"I just have a tiny fear of-AHHH!" Bunny yelped as the sleigh jerked slightly. "...flying!" he squealed. Luna couldn't help but smile. Something about seeing this rough and tough, six foot one master of tai chi clinging to his seat for dear life was sort of funny.

"Just leave him alone," Jack said. "He'll get over it, the big baby."

"Ah shut up, Frostbite!" Bunny snapped. Luna rolled her eyes at the boys and continued to lean over the edge of the sleigh. Jack's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Luna with that long, crooked smile on his lips.

"Do you want to jump?" he asked.

"Jump?" Luna repeated.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. And we'll scare the heck out of Bunny."

"Oh. Well I would, but in case you haven't noticed, I can't fly."

"No, but I can," Jack said as he poked her arm with his staff.

"Are you _trying _to get me killed?"

"No. I'll catch you before you get to the bottom." Luna considered this. She looked over the edge at the terrifyingly long drop. Then she looked at Jack and grinned, mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Let's do it."

Bunny was the only one who saw Jack help Luna out onto the side wing of the sleigh. His eyes bulged even farther out of his head.

"Jack! W-What're you doing?!" Jack simply smiled at the Pooka. He aided Luna in staying balanced on the wing.

"Okay. Here I go!" Luna exclaimed. She took one large breath and leaped. Jack followed.

"NORTH!" Bunny screamed. "Luna! Sh-she just... Jack! They..AHH!" Bunny continued to stumble over his words. The poor guy nearly fainted! Tooth and Sandy ran to the edge and looked down at the two figures plummeting to the ground. Both of them could fly, but something was stopping them from racing to Luna's side. Maybe it was their trust in Jack. They trusted him with this girl's life.

At first, Luna barely reacted. She just fell, wide-eyed and with a small smile twisted on her face. And then it hit her. She had just jumped off the sleigh. She just _jumped_ off the sleigh! She turned her head to the right to look at Jack. She laughed.

"Having fun?" Jack asked loudly, so as to be heard over the wind. Luna nodded, then let out a little _whoop _noise as she did a somersault in the air. Her heart was beating fast. She did a few more of her flips.

"When they got a little too close to the ground for Jack's taste, he flew down a few yards and waited. When Luna reached him, he caught her in his arms and let himself fall a little farther. Then he allowed the wind to carry them up to the sleigh.

Jack took Luna home that night, and she fell asleep thinking of how her life could never be better than it was right then. Little did she know that within the next week she would also visit Bunny's Warren _under_ Australia and the Tooth Palace in India!

**A/N**

**Hehe... Sorry this took so long. I've been busy. These last couple chapters haven't been great, but I hope I make up for that later! So just out of curiousity (and be honest!)... If Jack promised to catch you, would you jump out of the sleigh? **


	5. Chapter 5

Christmas Eve

10:52 PM

"Here," Luna said quietly. She gently placed the tiny box in Jack's hands. It was wrapped in white paper with silver snowflakes and a sparkly blue ribbon. They were sitting on the floor of Luna's cozy living room. The only light was that which came from the twinkling tree that towered before them. Aside from Luna's big black dog Phoebe, who was fast asleep on the recliner, they were alone.

"You got me a present?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Of course. Open it." Jack smiled as he untied the ribbon and stripped the parcel of its wrappings. He lifted the lid of the little white box and found a necklace. A silver chain strung through a round, black pendant with a full Moon on it. It was identical to Luna's.

"You're the best," he said, putting it around his neck.

"Now we match," said Luna, holding up her own necklace. Jack admired the jewelery that hung from his neck.

"It's your turn," Jack said as he pulled a little package from his hoodie pocket. "Merry Christmas. And happy birthday."

"Jack! You didn't have to get me anything."

"Yes I did. Well, go on!" He pushed the gift into her hands. Its wrapping paper was light blue with white snowflakes, and a curly silver bow was stuck on top. Luna opened the present and her eyes widened. She lifted up the black leather bracelet and stared in wonder at the intricate silver snowflake charm that dangled from it.

"Jack... This is lovely. Where did you get it?"

"I made it," Jack said humbly.

"You _made_ this?"

"Yeah. North let me borrow some stuff from his shop to do it. I hope you like it."

"Like it? Jack, it's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Here, help me put it on." Jack gently took her wrist and clasped the bracelet onto her. Luna looked at her best friend and smiled. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around the boy. At first, Jack was sort of stunned. Even though it had been a couple of years since people had started to see him, he still wasn't quite used to being touched, let alone _hugged_. But after a second or two, he hugged her back. Luna buried her face in Jack's chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled like winter. Like fresh, cold air and a faint trace of pine needles. This would forever be her favorite smell.

"Thank you, Jack."

It was a long hug. Longer than Jack had expected. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he pulled her away. He held her by the shoulders, just staring at her. When he looked into her strange and beautiful eyes, something changed. He wasn't sure what, but he could feel it in his chest. And that's when Jack did the single most unexpected thing he had ever done in his long life. He leaned in, and he kissed her. Right on the tip of her nose. It wasn't even that much of a kiss. He just barely touched his lips to her nose. It was sweet. Luna couldn't help it – the song lyrics ran through her head:

_Jack Frost nipping at your nose..._

"You're such a goofball." Luna shoved him playfully, a shy smile glued to her face. Jack laughed. He wasn't offended at all. He actually found her reaction cute. But before he could respond, Luna changed the subject.

"So when do you think North will get here? I need to give him these." She pulled a pile of presents out from under the tree.

"What are those?" Jack asked.

"Gifts for everyone." Jack looked over the packages. A sparkly yellow one, one with peacock feather patterns on the wrappings, a light green one with pastel colored spots, and a red and white striped one with a dark green bow.

"What's in them?" Jack questioned.

"For North, a box of my home-made cookies. For Bunny, a really nice art set with great paints and brushes. For Tooth, a dental care kit with yummy mint toothpaste, the best toothbrush you can get, three different kinds of floss, and whitening mouthwash. And for Sandy, the softest and fluffiest pillow I have ever felt."

"Do you know how awesome you are?" said Jack. Just then, they heard a sound coming from the fireplace. Then out walked North, his giant bag of toys slung over his shoulder. He looked at the two of them and held a finger to his lips. He put several presents under the tree, then came to Luna. He reached into his bag, pulled out five little boxes, and put them in Luna's hands. Luna gave him the gifts for the Guardians, which he carefully put in the bag.

"Merry Christmas, North," Luna whispered.

"Merry Christmas," he replied. After flashing them both a bright smile, North was back up the chimney. They heard the pitter-patter of the reindeer taking off, which was surprisingly quiet – Phoebe didn't even stir. Luna glanced at the five tiny presents that North had given directly to her.

"Should I open these now?" Jack nodded. Each of the gifts were about the size of her palm. The first one she chose to open was wrapped in gold with a yellow ribbon tied neatly around it. Upon opening it, she found a little golden bird charm, splendidly crafted and detailed. Luna admired it, then handed it to Jack to look at. Then she picked up the gift wrapped in shiny red with a black bow. She discovered that it, too, contained a charm. This one looked exactly like one of North's beautiful reindeer. The light pink and green striped box held a purple and blue Easter egg charm with skinny legs hanging from the bottom. In the violet box with green swirlies and a magenta ribbon, there sat a tiny tooth-shaped charm and a slip of paper with fancy cursive writing on it;

_-Don't forget to floss!_

There was only one box left, but Luna didn't know who it was from. It was glimmering silver with a white bow.

"Who is this from?" she asked Jack.

"I think I have a pretty good guess, but open it and see what it is." Luna peeled the paper from the box and lifted the lid. And there it was. Another charm. A beautiful cut crystal of some sort that gave off a bright blue light.

"Whoa..." Luna whispered.

"Wait... That's a moonstone, Luna!" Jack said.

"A moonstone?"

"Yeah! And it looks like it has a moonbeam in it!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that this is from MiM," Jack mused.

"Who's MiM?"

"The Man in the Moon! He sent you a gift! He must see something pretty special in you."

Luna added the new charms to her bracelet while Jack explained how MiM chooses the Guardians and watches over the planet. She never knew the huge story behind everyone's childhood heroes.

….

Luna fell asleep sometime around midnight, leaning against Jack. There was a small sand version of herself riding on a sand reindeer flying above her head. She curled in close to Jack, as if searching for the warmth that he could not provide. He assumed that, when her sleeping body realized that it was looking for heat in the Spirit of Winter, she would move away. But she didn't. So Jack put his arm around Luna and did something he didn't do very often: he fell asleep. Some dreamsand seeped from the window frame and turned into floating snowflakes above his head. And so Jack and Luna shared this blissful moment of sleep and dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

Pitch paced back and forth in front of the decomposing globe in his lair. He was worried. And angry. Very, very angry. The lights on the globe were brighter and more plentiful than ever before. What's a Nightmare King to do?

He glared in hatred at the three brightest lights on the globe. They were very close together in a small American state called Pennsylvania. Two of them were Jamie and Sophie Bennett, of course. The third was that girl. That girl who had destroyed his Nightmare in her sleep. Pitch would never be able to rise to his full power with such devoted believers in the way. He put a hand to his chin. He needed a plan...

Pitch looked up to the large bird cages that hung from the ceiling. An ugly smile formed on his face as a nasty plan stirred in his head.

"Hehe...yes...it's perfect..."

**A/N**

**Yeah sorry this one's so short. I just needed to give you a little peek inside Pitch's mind. Now I have this whole story planned out pretty well, but I wanna know... What do YOU want to see happen in this story? If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to let me know. Maybe I can throw them in somewhere. Till next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the long wait. My life's been pretty crazy for the past several weeks so please, just bear with me!**

Jack and Luna awoke early on Christmas morning. Luna quietly let him out before her family woke up. But he didn't leave. He floated outside her window and watched as Angie and their mother came out to exchange gifts. He was impressed to see that Angie had gotten Luna several fiction books, which he knew made her incredibly happy. His first impression of Angie had not been good, but now he saw that she really did love her sister.

Jack went off to spend time with the Bennetts for Christmas (they only lived about ten minutes away from Luna!) and Luna went to see other relatives. That night, Jack would come through Luna's window with a snowglobe in his pocket and they would go to North's place. Tooth would sweep Luna up in a giant hug that lifted her off of the ground and cut off her oxygen supply. Many thank-you's would be given and received and everything would be all happy giggles and merry smiles. But when Jack took Luna home... that's when the trouble started.

When Jack left, Luna sat down on the bottom bunk of her bed and started reading one of her new books. But she only finished two chapters before she heard the silky voice from the corner of her room.

"Hello, Luna," it said. Luna jumped at the sound of the man's voice in her room. From the shadowed corner, a man with skin like stone emerged. He took a step forward and Luna snatched the lamp from her nightstand and pointed it at him threateningly.

"Oh, my dear. There's no need for that. Besides, you wouldn't be able to hurt me anyway."

"Who are you?" There was not the slightest bit of fear in her voice.

"I don't wish to hurt you, Luna. I just need to get you out of my way for a while." Before Luna knew it, the man had ducked into a shadow and disappeared. She looked around but saw no one. Suddenly, she felt a long, strong hand cover her mouth and an arm restrain the rest of her body. Then all she saw was blackness.

…..

_**Luna**_

I land on my back on a hard, metal floor. I sit up and open my eyes. I'm in a cage. _Why_ am I in a cage? I stand up so fast I give myself a headache. But I forget about the pain as soon as I see where I am. It's a giant place with ugly lighting. Everything is in shambles. And my cage is hanging from the ceiling. There are at least 200 more all around me at various heights. What is this guy's problem?

"Let me out of here!" I scream. I grab the bars of the cage and shake, making the whole compartment sway. "NOW!"

"It's no use," says a small voice. I turn around and see a little brown-haired boy in a cage about half a football field away. "He won't let you out."

"Who is he? Are you okay?" I can't believe he has a little kid here! He can't be more than twelve years old.

"We're fine. And it's Pitch. He's back!" We? Then I see the second child a few cages away from the boy. A tiny blonde girl, no more than five. Oh, when I get out of this cage, this Pitch guy is going down. I'll kill him myself.

"Okay, I'm gonna get you out of there. It'll be alright."

"You're not going anywhere." Suddenly, my kidnapper is standing on the edge of my cage.

"Let us go right now," I say as calmly as I can.

"No," Pitch says simply. "Luna, do you know why you're here?" My only response is an inclement glare. "There is something that I want. Something that I _need_. And you three are interfering with my plan to get it. The thing that I need is _fear_." I furrow my eyebrows at this. "Tell me Luna," he reaches through the bars and grabs me by the neck, pulling me close to his face. "Do you believe in the Boogeyman?" His bitter breath swims into my nose. I fan the air in front of my face and manage the only words that run through my head.

"Whew! How could I not? I could smell you from a mile away. Have you ever heard of toothpaste?"

My provocation only forces Pitch to tighten his grip on my throat. When he finally lets go, he snarls:

"You'd best be careful, girl. I have the power to destroy all three of you." At this, my hand flies through the bars of my prison and my nails swipe is cheek. Four red lines appear and I smirk.

With a scoff, Pitch dives into a shadow and disappears.

_**Jack**_

I land on the roof outside Luna's window. I forgot to tell her that Russia is due for a storm, so I'd be gone for a couple days. I tap on the window. No answer. I give the glass a few more knocks. Nothing. The curtains are drawn shut, so I can't see inside.

"Luna?" Silence.

I fly around the house. Angie's bedroom light is on, and their mom is in the living room. But Luna is nowhere to be found. I need to get in there, so I sneak through an unlocked bathroom window. When I get to Luna's bedroom, my mouth hangs open a bit.

One of her new books is lying open on her bed and the blankets are hanging off the bed on one side. Her bedside lamp is on the floor and its shade is abandoned a couple feet away.

Something awful's happened. I know it. I can feel it. But no one else in the house seems to know that anything is wrong. I zoom down the stairs and through Angie's open door. She's watching some stupid-looking movie.

"Angie!" I yell. "Angie, Luna's gone! Where is she?" Of course, she doesn't even know I'm in her room. Her only bit of acknowledgment toward my presence is the way she pulls her fluffy robe closer to her chest. Ugh, she's no use. I fly to the living room and float directly in front of Luna's mom.

"Hey! Your daughter's missing! Do you even know that?" She's looking right through me. I try to grab her shoulders, but my hands pass through them.

I need to find her. I tear open the back door, hoping they'll just think the wind blew it open, and fly as fast as I can in the direction of the North Pole.

_**Luna**_

"What are your names?" I ask the kids, trying to keep their minds off of their surroundings as my mind races for an escape plan.

"I'm Jamie," says the boy.

"Sophie," says the girl.

"I'm Luna," I say. I could try and shake the cage until it falls, but that's too risky.

"Luna? Are you Jack's friend?" At this, I pause.

"Yes. And you're the Bennetts, aren't you?" I was too distracted to recognize the kids' names. Jack told me about them. He really loves them.

"That's us. Don't worry. Jack will find us."

I know he'll be looking for us when he realizes we're missing, but I have no idea how long that'll take. So I need to think of some way to get us out of here. I squeeze my eyes shut and lower my head. When I open my eyes I notice something odd. My bracelet. I lift my wrist to inspect it more closely. It's the moonstone from MiM. Instead of its usual lambent glow, it is now shining as bright as the moon itself. I rest the charm in my hand, and it begins to shake. I'm not sure what's going on, but the stone is almost vibrating! And all of a sudden, it's not just a tiny crystal anymore. Both of its ends shoot out and it is transformed into a glowing sword. Whoa!

I look from my sword to the bars around me and back again. There's no way any normal sword could break me out of here, but this is a magic sword... right? It's worth a shot, so I draw back the sword and take a single slash to the metal bars. And that's all it took. The bars are broken! With a few more cuts, there's an aperture big enough for me to slide through. I climb out and balance myself on the ledge. Clutching my weapon tightly and breathing as evenly as I can, I jump to the next cage and grip it. Then I jump to the next, and the next. Finally, I leap on to Jamie's crate.

"Stand back," I tell him. He heeds my warning and I smoothly shear the bars. I help Jamie on to my back (in the same way I hang on Jack when he takes me flying) and we hop to Sophie's cage and set her free. But how do we get to the ground?

_**Jack**_

North turns and pushes the dial that triggers the Northern Lights.

When the others arrive, we explain the situation to them and we decide to split up. Baby Tooth and I are going to check on Sophie and Jamie, Tooth and Sandy are investigating at Luna's house, and Bunny and North are searching the land and skies for anything questionable.

I just hope everything will be okay.

…..

_**Tooth**_

I phase through Luna's bedroom window, then let Sandy in. The bed is messed up and there's a lamp and shade on the floor, just like Jack said. I check under the bed, the floor all around it, and the window. Not so much as a shoe scuff or fingerprint anywhere. But then Sandy grabs my attention with his frantic pointing to the shadowed corner.

Upon closer inspection, I find a thin dusting of black sand.

**Now I know this is long overdue, but:**

**, y****ou were the first person to fave and review this little story, so you forever have my thanks!**

**FireGirl12****, you're an angel.**

**PixiePoet**** a****nd TimeTrixter22, you two seriously rock!**

**And finally...**

**Z. Bridgett****, you... are... flipping... AMAZING! *virtual hug***


	8. Chapter 8

**, for whatever reason your name was deleted from my last thank you, and YOU were the first person to fave and review this story. So thanks!**

**Now brace yourselves, everyone. This chapter's pretty insane.**

Jack was devastated.

When he found that both Jamie and Sophie were missing as well, he could have fainted. Baby Tooth was having a total anxiety attack. Three kids missing in one night! What was going on?

He flew. He flew at full speed to his pond, Baby Tooth clinging to his hood for dear life. Jack could barely think. He ran his hand through his hair, gasping for breath. His knees gave out and he collapsed to the snow. He looked at his reflection in the icy pond and moaned. Then he took off again, this time into the woods.

He didn't know where he was going – he just flew wherever his gut told him. Then he found out where he was headed. A giant hole in the ground.

_Oh no..._

The old bed frame was still gone, but the tunnel had been reopened. _I guess this is it..._

"You ready for this, Baby Tooth?" Baby Tooth squeaked nervously, and Jack jumped down the opening.

They fell through the inky blackness and touched down in the all-too-familiar abode of the Nightmare King. Baby Tooth buried herself in Jack's hood, hugging his cool neck for comfort. They heard a noise and Jack twirled around to see Luna jump from a low-hanging cage down to the tilted bridge he was standing on, Jamie on her back and Sophie in her arms. She put the kids down and they all froze in place when they saw the winter spirit.

Jack ran toward them and Baby Tooth zipped quietly away and back up the tunnel to tell her mother they had found their friends.

Jack scooped up Sophie and Jamie in a giant embrace. When, at last, he sat them back down, Jack and Luna exchanged a gaze of longing that was broken when they both grabbed each other at the same time. She held him with a force that her thin body did not appear capable of as he gently stroked her hair. Their one moment of peace was shattered by the coldness of Pitch's voice.

"Oh, how sweet." Luna pulled Sophie closer to her and Jack did the same with Jamie. "Frost, you just couldn't bear to see me succeed, could you?" Jack and Luna each picked up the child closest to them. "Well, now you've really done it." Jack pulled Luna on to his back and started to fly to the tunnel's opening with the three believers. However, just as they were about to exit, an enormous Nightmare blocked their path. It snarled and snorted and reared up on its hind legs, forcing the group to retreat, just for a moment. In that one second, a hundred Nightmares surrounded them. They slowly closed in on them in all directions. And just when things looked bleakest, a ferocious scream rang through the lair. Then an iridescent green blur zipped right through an entire wall of Nightmares, black sand exploding everywhere. The blur, of course, was the one and only Tooth Fairy. And she was followed by her magical fleet of allies.

Mini fairies tore through the black horses at a speed most unimaginable. They were predecessors to North with his swords, Bunny with his egg bombs, and Sandy with his dreamsand whips. The number of Nightmares rapidly declined thanks to the colorful army.

Jack escaped with Jamie, Sophie, and Luna the first chance he got. In the night, he took off into the woods, but was halted when something grabbed his ankle. He was jerked to a stop and found that a tendril of black sand had spiraled around his leg. He shook it relentlessly, only to have another stream coil around his other ankle. They yanked on his legs and pulled him to the ground, causing Jamie to fall from his arms and Sophie and Luna to fall from his back. The black sand dissipated and the friends stood up. Jack readied his staff, turning slowly in a circle. Then Luna's voice shredded the silence.

"JACK! Look out!" Jack turned just in time to see Pitch with his humongous, menacing scythe, and he jumped back enough to just barely avoid the giant swing the villain took at him. Jack used his staff to blast Pitch with powerful frost, causing the shadowy scoundrel to fly through the air and land on his bum. He growled and came after Jack with the scythe and took a giant chop that nearly split Jack's head. Luna was desperately trying to calm the hysterical Jamie and Sophie. She grabbed their hands and ran until they reached Jack's pond.

After a short battle between snow and darkness, Pitch sank into a tree's shadow and vanished. Jack was befuddled. He had no idea where his enemy had gone, so he followed Luna's tracks to his pond.

Only seconds after his arrival, Pitch's voice bored into their ears.

"I didn't want to have to do this!" Suddenly, Pitch appeared behind Jamie. The boy turned around, and it seemed as though the entire world was moving in slow motion.

Pitch drew back the deadly scythe and began to swing. Jamie gasped and screamed and covered his eyes, preparing for the imminent. But in one movement, Luna changed the future. She leapt between the blade and the believer, and her whole body jolted as the scythe penetrated her flesh. Deeply.

With a disgusted scowl, Pitch evaporated into a shadow and was gone.

The other Guardians arrived then. They were greeted with the sight of Luna's twitching body laying in the blood-splattered snow. Tooth's face turned paper white. She grabbed Jamie and Sophie and shielded them from the horrors before them. Everyone was petrified.

Jack dropped his staff and bolted to the girl in the snow. He sat on his legs and held Luna's head in his hands, tears streaming down his cheeks. He tenderly ran his fingers over the tear in her shirt. He bit his lip and stared into her brown and blue eyes.

"Jack..." Luna whispered as she reached up and wiped the tears from his face.

"Please don't leave," he sobbed.

"I won't. I'll never leave," she comforted. "Just... just... remember. Just imagine... our snowball fights... and our snow family." She smiled. So did Jack. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Luna."

Then her eyes lost all of their life.

Jack hugged his best friend. He buried his face in her hair. He cried. North removed his hat and sniffed deeply. Bunny lowered his head, his ears pinned back all the way. Sandy silently wiped the unshed tears from his eyes. Tooth huddled Jamie and Sophie in her arms. Snow began to fall heavily, the result of Jack's unstable emotions. He lifted his head from Luna's body and said shakily:

"Tooth, take Jamie and Soph home. Stay with them." Tooth nodded wordlessly and buzzed away with the children.

They thought it was all over.

But Pitch had the audacity to return.

"You see, this is what happens when you poke your noses in other people's business!" He stood there, almost mocking the death of a girl. Then he sprinted off deeper into the woods. Sandy, North, and Bunny followed. Jack glanced down at Luna's face. She looked so different with her large eyes devoid of wonder and her normally dark lips drained of their color. Snowflakes drifted down and coated her hair and eyelashes. With his index and middle finger, Jack gently closed her eyelids. He planted a kiss in the middle of her forehead, then placed her softly in the snow. He gripped her hand for a moment, knowing he had to help his friends. So, reluctantly, Jack let go of Luna's hand, picked up his staff, and took off.

The battle that followed lasted for only twelve minutes, and resulted in Pitch's escape.

When the Guardians returned to retrieve Luna, she was gone. The heavy snowfall had filled in any footprints that would have remained and, after digging in the snow for what seemed like an eternity, the girl was still not found.

**Sorry if this is too intense... but it had to happen. But don't worry! All the pieces will come together soon...**

**SomeRandomPerson****, does this make it better?! *performs CPR*revives you* Thanks for the support! I was starting to think that people really didn't like my story that much because of the lack of reviews and whatnot, but you truly made my day!**

**Till next time! **


	9. Chapter 9

**During_ the twelve minute battle with Pitch..._**

The full Moon shone bright and clear that night. Its light shined down on the fresh snow and made it sparkle with color.

Breathtaking.

Near a pond in the woods, a small area of the snow began to move. A great, glowing ray of moonlight shined on the spot. The snow was disturbed again, this time causing the surface to crack. A pale, kind face emerged from the snow, followed by elegant shoulders.

The Man in the Moon slowly lifted the girl out of the icy blanket and into the snowflake-filled air. Frost was entwined in her long, curly hair, sending out small, colorful beams in all directions. A large tear in her shirt was instantly mended, like magic. MiM awakened her, and her eyelids fluttered open to reveal irises so light blue that they were almost as white as the Moon.

The girl gazed at the stunning white orb in the sky. Her peculiar eyes were filled to the brim with curiosity and wonder. She smiled, exposing her pearly white teeth. MiM then lowered her to the ground, snow crunching under her feet. She looked at her hands and feet and touched her hair. Then she raised her head to look at the Moon once more. Then the deepest, richest, kindest voice the galaxies have ever heard spoke to her.

"Your name is Luna Nightingale, and you are someone very extraordinary, indeed."

Luna tried the name out in her head, then smiled contentedly. She looked all around her, at her birthplace. It was lovely. Calm and peaceful and serene.

She took a few steps, then stopped.

_How do I know how to walk? Wait... How do I know how to think? How do I know how to do anything?_

Luna sighed and looked down at the crunchy white powder beneath her. _Snow..._ She crouched down and scooped up a handful of the stuff. It was extremely cold, but it brought her comfort and joy. Like it was a part of her.

She soon saw a path that lead up a small hill. She strolled up and found a street in a quiet neighborhood. She walked and walked until she reached the main street of the town, where a few pedestrians were wandering around. As Luna walked past a dark shop window, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection. She looked at her snow-white skin, deep red lips, freckled nose and cheeks, and her nearly white eyes. She was wearing a black, long sleeved shirt with rainbow-striped sleeves and a matching striped hood. Around her neck was a beautiful Moon necklace.

_Hmm... So that's what I look like._

Then she saw a man walking toward her. She went up to him and said:

"Excuse me, sir, Could you-" She was cut off when the gentleman passed right through her. She gasped and a shiver ran up her spine. Her body felt like pins and needles all over.

She stared with wide eyes at the man who was walking away. She tried to speak to several other people, but no one could see or hear her.

So Luna, confused and alone, walked off to explore this strange new world.

**Special thanks to...**

**Luzydeath**

**pinkittwice**

**shadowhuntergirl1011**

**and**

**AngelChick1432**** (Am I too late to save you?! Please wake up!)**

**You people have no idea how much it means to me when you fave/follow/review my fanfic! See you in the next chapter, my little Snowdrops!**


	10. Chapter 10

Jack pushed open Luna's unlocked bedroom window. He peered around the room. It had been three days since Luna's death, and the people who were investigating her disappearance had finally left. They had concluded that she was a runaway.

The boy wandered past Luna's dresser, tapping the wood and running his fingers over the various snowglobes and figurines. He sighed. He made his way over to her desk, which was barely visible beneath the folders, papers, notebooks, and pencils. He sat down on the chair and picked up a notebook. He opened it and saw himself looking back.

It was him.

She had drawn him.

And it was perfect.

She had taken into account every last detail. From the exact shapes of his eyes down to the barely-there freckles that dotted his cheeks. Not one silver hair was out of place. He turned the page. Another Jack. This one was his profile and his eyes were closed. Again, every detail was spot-on. On the next page was Sandy. He was looking at something in the distance with a day-dreamy smile on his lips. Jack flipped through the pages and marveled at how she had captured each and every one of the Guardians so splendidly. It was especially interesting to see how she drew Tooth's feathers so intricately.

After looking through a few more notebooks that were filled with mermaids and dragons and centaurs and other fairytale things, Jack came across a photo album. There were four page-marker labels sticking out of the side: _Plants, Animals, Friends, _and_ Family._

He leafed through the Plants and Animals sections, admiring how clear and beautiful the shots were. In the Friends section, there were several pictures of only two people. A thin girl with dark eyes and wavy brown hair and a tall, muscular boy with dark skin and short, black curls. In one picture, Luna was between the two of them and they all had their arms around each other and were smiling brightly. They were in dressy clothes, Luna being in a knee length silver dress with a bright blue sash. A small note in Luna's writing below the photo read: _Lisa, Gerry, and me at the 8__th__ grade Spring Fling. _Even in that picture, she had her Moon necklace around her neck. Jack reached up and took his matching pendant out of his hoodie. He clutched it, sighed, then put it back under his shirt.

There were a lot of pictures of Lisa and Gerry, whoever they were. Luna and Lisa at a camp, Gerry holding some sort of sport trophy above his head, class pictures of the two of them. Were they really her only friends?

As he reached the Family section, he saw many photos of Angie, Ms. Nightingale, Phoebe, and tons of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. On a page all by itself was a picture of a handsome man who was very obviously Luna's father. Jack hadn't thought of it until then, but Luna had never spoken a word about him. He wondered where he was.

He turned the page and was surprised to see himself yet again. He was in the Family part of her book. In his photo, he was sitting on the floor in Luna's living room and leaning his back on the sofa, fast asleep. Underneath it, Luna had written:

_Jack on Christmas morning._

He didn't even know Luna had photographed him! She must have put the picture in the album on Christmas, before Pitch abducted her. On the next few pages, there were photos from their tours of the workshop, the Warren, and Tooth Palace. _She was taking pictures all that time and we didn't even notice? _Jack laughed to himself. She was a sneaky little lady, wasn't she?

The little chuckles that he had let out stung in his chest, and tears burned in his eyes. He decided it was time to leave, and that he needed to go visit North. He had not been in contact with any of his friends since that terrible night. He took one last look around the room, then flew out. As soon as he was outside, only one thing caught his eye.

The Northern Lights.

…..

Jack entered the busy workshop to find that he was the last to arrive.

"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's MiM," North replied. "He wanted me to gather all Guardians."

"Must be something big," stated Bunny. There was a strange quietness to the Pooka's voice. Although he was one of the toughest guys around, he was also very sensitive, and the loss of Luna visibly took its toll on him.

Then the Moon moved over the opening in the roof and looked upon his Guardians. A bright ray of moonlight shimmered down on the Guardians symbol on the floor. A shadow of Pitch wielding his scythe appeared in the light.

"Yeah, we know," Jack said, sounding a tad annoyed. Then, to their complete surprise, the floor began to open. Tooth and Sandy exchanged an excited look. The giant moonstone rose from the floor, glowing brilliantly. They all knew what this meant. Everyone in the room held their breath as a figure began to form above the stone. They froze in shock when the human figure was complete. All five of them looked as if their eyes would pop out of their heads.

Luna.

Jack began to laugh hysterically. There was now a new hope in his heart, as his little Snowdrop was alive, after all!

**Chapter 10 at last! I'd like to thank Ya I'm THAT chick, Normal-is-boring-96, SomeRandomPerson (I made the cookies with unicorn spit and apple butter, so they give you life times infinity!) and Daisy54154 for their delightful reviews! Oh and Randomness, nice Bunny. I only know how to make a sideways chicken... (:3)=l And FireGirl12, thanks! But why does my story make everyone "die"?! Your comments motivate me so much and I LOVE them!**

**Oh and thanks to all my new followers and faves. You're the best!**

**See you all next time! **


	11. Chapter 11

A swarm of two thousand mini fairies streamed out of Tooth Palace at Toothiana's command. The Tooth Fairy sent her helpers to every corner of the globe. Not just to search for Luna, but also to keep track of Pitch's activity.

Jack, who had accompanied Tooth to her home, stared in amazement as the fairies flew off.

"Hey, Tooth?" Jack said. "How do you think this is all gonna end?" Tooth placed a tiny hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack, there's something I need to tell you." Was this it? Was she finally going to say it out loud? "Jack, I..." The boy's brilliant blue eyes barreled into her amethyst ones. She exhaled sharply. "I just... really hope that everything turns out just the way you want it to." Dang. She missed her chance. Tooth could clearly see that Jack had really fallen for Luna, and that was probably her last opportunity to tell him how she felt. Urgh! Why couldn't she just say it?"

"Thanks, Tooth." The fairy nodded.

Within about twenty minutes, several groups of fairies had returned with news on the children of the world. They were hardly sleeping. They had received Nightmares for several weeks without a break, and eventually just started sitting up in fear all night long. That was NOT a good sign.

When Baby Tooth's group returned, they excitedly squeaked their news at Tooth.

"They found her!" Tooth cheered. Baby Tooth squealed at Tooth some more, and Tooth yelped with happiness.

"What?! Where is she?!" Jack demanded.

"She's still in Burgess! They just saw her walking in the middle of town!"

"Well come on! Let's go!" Jack yelled.

"You three!" Tooth gestured to three fairies. "Go tell North, Sandy, and Bunny to meet us there!" And with that, they were off.

…..

When Tooth and Jack first saw Luna that night, the winter spirit sped after her, but Tooth stopped him.

"We have to do this slowly and calmly," she explained. "She's probably very confused and we want to approach her gently." Jack nodded disappointedly.

Luna had her striped hood up over her head and was walking quickly down the sidewalk. Jack and Tooth trailed behind her. When the new spirit turned a corner, her stalkers hurried themselves up. When they rounded the corner, they found her facing a wall that created a dead end.

"Luna!" Jack called. The girl's head whipped around and her hood fell off. Jack froze.

"Her eyes..." Tooth trailed off. Then they heard a crash that signaled North's landing. Sandy, Bunnymund, and North all rushed to the other Guardians' sides. They were all stunned by the giant white orbs that stared back at them. But Jack was distracted by something else.

"Luna, did someone hurt you?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the bruise and cut beneath her left eye. He walked toward her and reached to stroke her face. She flinched back. Sadness flooded over the boy as he realized that his best friend had no idea who he was.

Luna shuddered. This boy with the white hair was so familiar it hurt. But why did she recognize him? She had never seen him before... right?

"Luna..." he whispered as he put a hand on her shoulder. Why did she look like she was afraid of him? "Luna, it's me!" he shouted. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "It's ME!" Luna gritted her teeth as she sent her clenched fist pummeling into his lips. Jack was shoved backward by the sheer force of her punch. All the Guardians gasped, except for Bunny, who had to fight off the urge to start laughing.

Jack grunted in pain and covered his mouth with his hand. Tooth zoomed over and gently held his jaw as she stuck her fingers in his mouth. She sighed in relief when she found that his perfect teeth had not been damaged.

Jack glanced up at Luna with a _what the heck_ expression on his face.

"Who are you people?" Luna snapped.

"You really don't remember any of us?" asked a very upset Bunny. His answer was a desperately puzzled glare.

_I know him... But why?_

"Luna, you need to come with us," said North.

_I know all of them..._

"Please," Jack begged as he tried once more to touch her. But a huge crystal sword appeared in her hand out of nowhere, and Jack stumbled back again.

"Tell me... who... you are," Luna enunciated, raising the sword to Jack's neck.

"Jack."

"Jack who?"

"Jack _who_? Try Jack Frost! You know, your best friend who takes you out flying and... and who you spent Christmas and your birthday with! And the one who took you to the North Pole! And the last person you saw before you..." He couldn't finish that last sentence.

The boy's pleading eyes dug into her very soul. She lowered her sword and it returned to its puny charm form.

"Where is it that you need me to go?"

…..

Luna sank into one of North's chairs.

"Are you sure this is me that you're talking about?" She was bewildered. If everything they had just told her was true, then why couldn't she remember it?

"Yes, it's you!" Tooth persuaded.

"You're positive?" Luna asked. Sandy nodded madly. A bunch of sand images appeared above his head as he tried to explain things to her, but she could only pick out a few scraps of what he was telling her.

"Don't you have any memories at all?" Jack said urgently. Then Tooth let out an echoing gasp.

"Memories! We need to get her teeth!"

"We'll take the tunnels," Bunny said quickly. He tapped his foot on the floor, and a giant hole appeared.

…..

When they reached Tooth Palace, Tooth dashed to one of the compartments that held baby teeth.

"Here it is! Luna Nightingale!" She flew to Luna and placed a rectangular box in her hands. Luna inspected the painting of herself that was on the end of it. _Brown eyes?_ She brushed a thumb over the diamond patterns on the top of the box, and she was suddenly in a different world.

* * *

A four-year-old Luna tugged on her mother's shirt, pulling her toward the line of kids waiting to sit on Santa's lap at the mall.

Five-year-old Luna made tiny snowangels in her yard as she giggled at the falling snowflakes.

Nine-year-old Luna braided fresh spring flowers into her hair.

* * *

Memories flashed before her eyes, fast-forwarding through the years. They eventually lead to her first meeting with Jack, and ended with "I love you too, Luna." And she suddenly remembered everything.

When Luna re-entered the current world, she looked over all of her friends. Jack came up to her.

"Do you remember?"

The girl swept Jack into her arms and hugged him so hard he couldn't breathe. She looked up into his eyes.

"How did I ever forget?" All the other Guardians joined in on the hug and happily enjoyed the calm before the storm.

**Finally got chapter 11 up. Thanks for being patient, everyone! When I saw all the new reviews I was so happy! Thank you all for the support!**

**swimmeralltheway****, sorry for making you go on an emotion overload! But thanks for all the nice stuff you said. That's just what I was trying to do!**

**ILoveMoA****, thanks! Ummm... Minute of Angle? Mother of Alastor? Move on Already? It's been driving me crazy! Just tell me!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Angie**_

Why?

Why did she do it?

Why did Luna leave? Was it something I did? She seemed fine. In fact, for the past month, she'd been happier than she'd ever been before. Was she just happy that she was leaving?

I'm not even sure if she's really a runaway. None of her stuff is missing. She would have at least taken some clothes, right? They told us that she probably crawled out her window and jumped because of the footprints on the roof outside of her room. But I don't buy it. They were bare footprints. Luna isn't stupid enough to go out in the snow with no shoes. I think they're full of it.

I miss her.

I think it's my fault.

I knew she didn't have a lot of friends. I knew she _did_ have a lot of bullies. But did I ever help? No.

And now she's gone.

I've been in my room for two days. I've only left for the bathroom and food. But only when I absolutely needed it. I just sit here with the lights off and stare at the darkness, remembering her face. She was so thin and frail-looking, but something about the arch of her eyebrows and her thin red lips made her look colder than she really was. The only thing that gave her away was her eyes. The way they always had lively sparks of curiosity in them.

Listen to me, using "had" and "was" like she's dead or something. She's not dead. She can't be.

My sister is alive.

And tomorrow, I'm going to find her.

**Outro of darkness then redness then whiteness then short-chapterness! I hope you get that reference, because if you don't, I probably sound pretty crazy right now.**

**swimmeralltheway****, I'm really glad you like Luna so much, but give poor Tooth a break! :)**

**everything ecstatic****, thanks! And sorry I didn't get back to you, but I think your story will be just fine as long as you write what your heart tells you to.**

**ILoveMoA****, oooooooooooohhhhhhh. Well I was way off. And help yourself, as long as you don't mind magic horse saliva in your pastries... ;)**

**Normal-is-boring-96****, in time...**

**And thanks to everyone else who reviewed/followed/faved. It really helps!**

**BOOP!**


	13. Chapter 13

Their embrace was cut short by a sharp neighing. It was followed by the rough, grainy sound of sand slithering across the Tooth Palace's shiny floors. Then laughter as smooth as silk erupted around the Guardians.

The Nightmare King had returned.

"Sorry to break up this little reunion, but we have unfinished business to attend to." At the sound of the Boogeyman's voice, images of Luna's death flashed through her memories. A scowl instantly spread across her face, and she stomped out into the open with her fists clenched.

"Where are you?! Show your face!" she screamed, her moonstone sword appearing in her hands. Pitch galloped into view on the back of a Nightmare.

"Hm. I thought I got rid of you," he stated bluntly. "Oh well. I'm always up for a challenge. But first, I'd like you to meet someone. Sarabeth?"

Hoofbeats pounded against the Palace floors, and another Nightmare barreled in. Mounted on the horse was a girl. She was about Luna's age, perhaps slightly younger. Her silky hair was midnight black and fell a few inches below her shoulders. She wore a gray tank top, skin-tight black pants, and large, mirrored sunglasses that had been shattered so she could peer through them with her deep violet eyes.

"How many times have I told you NOT TO CALL ME SARABETH? It's _Friday_!" hissed the girl who apparently preferred the nickname Friday.

"Yes, of course," Pitch said, brushing off the girl's temper. "Anyway, you know all of the fear and bad luck that is stirred up on Friday the 13th? Well-"

"_I'm_ the one who makes that happen." Friday crossed her arms triumphantly.

"Yeah? So what?" Bunny snapped.

"'So what?' With Friday at my side, I can destroy each and every one of you. And all the hopes and dreams of children around the world will die with you. That's what." With that, Pitch and Friday sunk into a shadow and were out of sight.

"It'll never work!" Luna barked.

"Oh? And why not?" asked the bodiless voice of Pitch.

"Because we're not afraid to fight you!" she responded.

"You mean to tell me that you're not afraid of the Boogeyman, himself?" he asked. Luna scoffed.

"Of course not! I'm not afraid of anything."

"Luna, I'm shocked! I never thought that you, of all people, were one to tell such lies!"

"What do you mean?"

"I know _everyone's_ greatest fears. Oh sure, you're not afraid of spiders or snakes or ghosts like other people. No. But you are deathly afraid of something. Something that you simply cannot escape. Something that haunts you every waking moment."

"What?" Luna asked suspiciously.

"Yourself." Pitch appeared on a ledge high above the Guardians' heads. Bunny tossed a boomerang at him, but Pitch expertly dodged it. Then he began a speech, disappearing then popping back up in random places to avoid an attack.

"Luna, you are terrified of yourself. You are afraid of hurting people. You are afraid of seeing one more person's blood running down your hands. You've hurt people, haven't you, Luna?"

Luna stood, frozen. Her mouth hung slightly ajar and her nostrils were flared.

"You leave her alone!" North cried as he raced toward Pitch with his swords raised. But before he reached his nemesis, Pitch melted into the floor, only to spring up somewhere else.

"You'd best be prepared, girl. Because you _will_ be demolished."

"You won't lay a hand on her!" Bunny growled, shielding Luna with a protective arm. Sandy also stepped in front his friend with his arms crossed and a warning glare on his face.

"That's just it! I won't have to." Pitch snarled. Luna had had enough. She pushed Bunny and Sandy out of her way and darted toward Pitch at full speed. Pitch stood there calmly, positive that this teenage girl could do him no harm.

He was wrong.

As she neared Pitch, Luna took a giant leap and transformed into an enormous white tiger. She collided with the shadowy villain and pinned him to the floor with paws as big as his head. She opened her mouth and let out a deafening roar, her razor-sharp teeth only centimeters from his face. Then the tiger stared into Pitch's eyes, teeth bared, and uttered a low growl. Pitch's eyes widened in fear and he scrambled to reach his hand out, touch a shadow, and make his escape.

The tiger looked back up at the boy with the white hair, then returned to her human form. All the Guardians and a handful of mini fairies gawked at her.

"What... was that?!" Jack laughed. They all began to fuss over Luna's new power.

"I can't believe you're a shape-shifter!" Tooth mused.

"How do ya do it?" asked Bunny.

"I... I don't know. I just sort of... imagine what it would feel like to be whatever I want to turn into, and it just happens."

"How did you find out you could do it?" asked Jack.

"Well..." Luna started. "I fell asleep in a tree one night and had a dream about a snowy owl. Then I kinda... woke up as one."

"Wow," North said in amazement.

"Wait," Jack said, lightly brushing his thumb over the bruise and cut beneath Luna's left eye. "You wanna explain this?"

"Oh...hehe. It's kind of a funny story, actually. See, when I found out I could turn into an owl, naturally, I was teaching myself to fly. Well, it was great... until I accidentally made myself human in mid air. Then I... you know... fell into a tree," she chuckled.

"Aw!" Tooth cooed. "Are your teeth okay?"

After a bit of catching up, the Guardians informed Luna of Pitch's activity. Then Bunny brought up a subject that Luna had hoped to avoid.

"Hey, Luna? What did Pitch mean by all that stuff about you... being afraid of yourself?" Luna went silent and lowered her face. She closed her eyes, not wanting to say anything.

But she didn't have to, because at that moment, they all heard a voice that each of them had only heard once before.

MiM.

"My Guardians, this is not something that I would normally do... but this story must be told. I think it's time to take a little peek into Luna's memories."

**Yeah... sorry it took forever for me to get this posted. I got a big summer assignment for the AP English class I'm taking this coming year, and I've been working on it. It kinda sucked all the life out of me and ate my soul, sooo... you know how it is. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. And I know Friday wasn't a big part of this chapter, but don't worry- you'll be seeing a lot of her in the near future! (By the way, I didn't plan on the Friday the 13th character showing up in Chapter 13. Sometimes things just work out that way!) *Spoiler alert* I sorta named her after the cat/witch (Sarabeth) in my favorite _Goosebumps_ book- _Monster Blood_!Sorry if this chapter sucked! See you in the next chapter, when we get to see Luna's memories! **

**As always, thanks to all who reviewed/followed/faved!**


	14. Chapter 14

Each Guardian's vision was blacked out. Then MiM's voice rang out in the silence.

"She covers it up well, but our friend, Luna, has been hurt by many people. She shows excellent self control on most occasions... but there was one incident not too long ago that haunts her mind and threatens to take over her. Now, watch, and see for yourselves." What followed was a strange slideshow of sorts. The Guardians were submerged in Luna's memories, completely surrounded by them. And yet, they weren't physically _there_.

The first memory started off with Luna walking down a school hallway, holding a large cluster of books in her arms. Then two boys around her age came along, and one went around either side of Luna. As they passed, they each reached out and grabbed one of Luna's arms and pulled, causing her to spill the books all over the floor. As the boys walked off laughing, Luna closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and picked up the books calmly.

As the next scene merged in, the Guardians found Luna sitting in a noiseless classroom, taking a science test. As she was thoughtfully filling in answers, a crumpled ball of paper flew across the room and hit her in the head. She ignored it. Then another scrap did the same thing. Then another... then another. Then finally, a pencil smacked against her skull with a small _thwack_. Luna shot her head to the right, glaring at a snickering group of kids across the classroom. If looks could kill, they'd have all been dead in a second. Yet she did not say a word, and continued working.

A boy stuck gum in her hair on the bus.

A girl dumped a bottle of water on her head as she passed her in the school cafeteria.

Dozens of memories went by this way- cruel and annoying kids picking on her for no apparent reason. Some of the things Luna's peers did to her were totally despicable (one girl had stooped so low as to cut off a chunk of Luna's long hair while sitting behind her in an Algebra class), but Luna never once appeared to be broken by the tasks.

But then a memory that had changed Luna forever rolled around. The Guardians watched as Luna, dressed in a black windbreaker jacket, walked down a sidewalk in Burgess, autumn leaves stirring all around her. A few yards ahead of her, a very petite girl, just a bit younger than Luna, strode quickly down the walkway. As she was just about to turn a corner, one of the boys who had made Luna drop her books rounded around and collided with the girl. He immediately began cursing and threatening the timid girl. She looked as if she would cry. Luna walked up and steered the girl around the corner and politely told her to keep walking. Once she was out of earshot, Luna went up to the boy and hissed in his face:

"What is the matter with you?!"

"You know what, Nightingale? You should just quit butting into other people's lives, 'cause frankly, no one needs you," he stated. He then proceeded to push her aggressively off of the sidewalk, causing her to fall on her back on the road. As he stood over her and yelled ugly and hateful words at her, something inside her snapped. Her eyes visibly dimmed, and something else seemed to take over her body.

Luna sprang up from the street and lunged at her peer's throat. She smacked him against a wall, his body making an unpleasant _crunch_ as it made contact with the bricks. She coiled her fingers tightly around his neck, and dug into his skin with her nails as she repeatedly pounded him against the wall. She stared, unblinking, into his eyes as he uttered a pathetic gasp that sounded an awful lot like "I'm sorry".

The light returned to Luna's eyes and she let go of the kid. He remained pressed to the wall in terror. Luna dropped her gaze to her pale hands, whose fingernails were stained with blood. The red liquid was trickling down her fingers and a bit coated her palms. She lifted her trembling head to the boy, more fear in her eyes than in his, then took off running.

The memory faded away and the Guardians were once again in the Tooth Palace. All eyes gravitated toward Luna. Tooth put a gentle hand on Luna's shoulder, and Sandy reached up to grasp the new spirit's hand in his. She gave them all a sad smile.

"Luna, why don't you come back to the Pole with me?" said North. "You too, Jack."

…..

Luna stood on the balcony that was attached to the cozy bedroom at the workshop that North had given her full possession of. She smiled at the sparkling, icy canyon. She then turned and re-entered the bedroom, locking the frosted glass balcony door behind her. There came a light tapping on the bedroom door. She opened it to find Jack, looking rather concerned.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Can I talk to you about something?" Luna nodded and stepped to the side to let him in. She gestured to a plush red chair, and he took a seat. Luna sat on the edge of her bed and faced him.

"What do you need?" she asked. Jack sighed.

"Well, I noticed something earlier, and I just can't keep my mind off of it." He paused. "When you turned into that tiger and attacked Pitch... when you looked in his eyes, he was so afraid. I mean, yeah it was shocking, but it wasn't enough to strike that much fear into the _Nightmare King_. Is there something you didn't tell us?" Luna hesitated, but soon replied:

"I'm not _just_ a shape-shifter."

"What else are you?" Luna chuckled at this.

"A freak," she smiled.

"Don't say that! Now what's wrong? I need to know." His stare was glued to Luna.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what it is. But... I can see other people's thoughts." Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "I know, it doesn't make sense. But it's true. When I look into other people's eyes, I can see their thoughts and memories. Their feelings. The person doesn't even have to be able to see me. It still works. I can pick around at their brain and make them remember things. And when I do it, I can see what they've seen. Smell what they've smelled. Feel what they've felt. I know their every thought and emotion. And I don't get it."

"Luna, it's okay. You're just getting used to your new powers. It's natural to feel strange about it." Jack tried to comfort her.

"The fact that I can do it isn't what's bothering me, Jack. It's what I see when I do it that bothers me. What I saw in Pitch..." She trailed off.

"What was it?"

"A girl. I saw a girl. One with black hair and dark eyes. And it wasn't fear you saw when I attacked him. It was pain. The girl caused him _pain_."

"Do you know why?"

"I have my suspicions."

"What do you think? Who is she?"

"Did Pitch ever have a daughter?"

** SomeRandomPerson and, well, everyone else who reads this story... I'm REALLY sorry about this terribly long wait! So please, accept my sincerest apologies and know this: I will NOT abandon this story. Even if I take long breaks in between chapters like this, I'll still come back. Again, I'm sorry, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter, my Snowdrops!**


	15. Chapter 15

_**North**_

Luna and Jack told me about the girl in Pitch's memories. Luna is convinced that she was Pitch's daughter.

"North?" says Jack.

"North? Who is she?" Luna asks. I snap back from my thoughts and answer her.

"She is Pitch's daughter." Jack and Luna glance at each other. "But we mustn't be worried about her now. We have to focus on defeating Pitch."

"But North, I need to know more about her. She-"

"There is no time for that." Luna sighs, dissatisfaction echoing around her.

"Okay," she says.

_**Jack**_

Luna and I leave North's office and head back to her room. She's really hooked on puzzling out this girl. She told me that it was a very young girl that she saw, about twelve. I still can't believe _Pitch_ had a kid. He's not exactly the daddy type.

When we reach her bedroom, Luna immediately strides to the desk in the corner and pulls out some paper and a pen without a word. I hear the pen scratching on the paper, but I can't see what she's doing. I walk around to the side of the desk so I can watch her. She is sketching away at a lightning pace, but her eyes are closed. I look at the paper to find who I assume is Pitch's daughter glaring back at me, a morbid expression on her face. When Luna's eyelids lift, she is staring right at me.

"Is that her?' I ask. She nods.

"I need to figure her out. She's key to something. I can feel it. I just don't know what." She leans back in her chair with a hand on her forehead. I can't help but look at her. She's like a porcelain statue, so still and perfect. But suddenly she bolts forward and gasps.

"What?!" I yell. She turns and bores her white eyes into mine.

"No one knows I'm alive!"

**Just a quick little chapter to ease us into the next one. Big thanks to my new faves and followers and all who reviewed! You all get a free hug from your favorite Guardian! **


	16. Chapter 16

_**Angie**_

My alarm goes off at six in the morning. I shoot straight up in shock. Once the initial surprise is over, I hit the _OFF_ button on my clock and crawl out of bed. I slip on a warm, white sweater, some light blue jeans, and white boots. I need to get going, but there's something I have to do before I go out searching for my sister.

I quietly open my bedroom door and step out into the hall. There is no one around except for Phoebe who has been laying outside Luna's door ever since she left. I step over the dog and pull open the door, climb the small staircase, and enter my sister's room.

I just want to look around a little. Maybe there is some sort of clue as to where she went. I don't see anything out of the ordinary throughout the room, so I move to the desk. I don't remember that photo album sitting out in the open like that. I sit down in the chair and open the album to a random page about three quarters of the way through the book.

Of course I opened it to this page.

There it is. That picture of Dad that she always kept. I'd almost forgotten how much Luna looks like him. Wait... She wouldn't have gone to see him, would she? No. Why would she do that?

Just to get my father's face out of my eyes, I turn the page. What I see is confusing.

It's a picture of our living room floor.

A chunk of the couch is in the upper right corner, but other than that, it's the floor. Underneath it, Luna has written:

_Jack on Christmas morning._

Okay, has she named our carpet Jack? I don't get it. I don't get _her_. So I turn the page. What the...? I leaf through all of the pages and read the notes beneath them.

_Our tour of the Tooth Palace._

_ The Sentinel Eggs in the Warren._

_ Phil at the painting station._

_ Sandy's nightly rounds._

All of these photos are blank! They're just empty white sheets of photo paper that she stuck in here! Was she going crazy? Did she just turn into a total lunatic and walk out on us one night? I just don't understand!

I get up and stumble down the stairs, not caring if I wake Mom up. I run down to the living room and collapse to my knees. I bury my face in my hands and let out a dry sob. When I finally look up, I see the snowy forest behind our house through the window. Something is calling me there. I need to go out there. I pull on my white coat and gloves and head out the back door. A shiver runs up my spine as the icy wind cuts into my face. I don't know what Luna sees in this kind of weather. She loves it. I can't stand it.

As I enter the woods, a strange sensation overcomes me. I feel like someone is watching me, but there's no one around. Then the voices come.

"Angie!" It's barely a whisper, but I hear it.

"Angie!" It's a little louder now. As I look around the woods like a madwoman, I hear it again.

"ANGIE!" It's Luna. That's her voice! But the only things around me are the trees and the snow. I drop to the ground and clutch my head, my heart threatening to tear through my chest. I can't take it, her voice all around me. I shriek at the sky in agony.

Then a single snowball slaps me right in the face.

**I've been wanting to write this chapter forever! Hope you enjoyed it! For some reason, I really love the idea of non-believers being unable to see even pictures of the Guardians and their worlds. Thanks to the new faves and followers that this story has gained since just yesterday! And JohnnyDeppLover44 and UGottaLoveDraco, thanks for your reviews! They made me very happy.**


	17. Chapter 17

Angie scraped the snow from her eyes and turned her head toward the direction from where it came.

There stood Luna, looking exactly as she had on Christmas day, but with a fading bruise and a healing cut on her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

"Can she see me?" Luna whispered. "Please tell me she can see me." Angie stood and walked to her slowly. "I'm afraid to," Luna stated to no one. After a pause, she answered a question that no one asked. "Because I'm afraid she won't be there when I do."

"Luna?" Angie asked hesitantly. Luna exhaled sharply and her eyelids flicked open. Angie gasped at her Moon eyes. Luna smiled brightly.

"Angie!" she squealed, snatching up her sister in her strong arms. The blonde pulled Luna away so she could look at her.

"Is that really you?"

"Yes! It's me!" Luna reassured. She then turned her head to the right and smiled ecstatically at nothing. "And this is Jack," she said, gesturing to the empty space next to her. Angie stared at her blankly. Luna then looked at the nothing named Jack intently, like she was listening to a voice that didn't speak.

"Oh," Luna sighed, looking back at Angie.

"What?" she questioned. Luna bit her lip.

"Okay, this is going to sound really crazy and you're gonna think I've lost my mind... but you have to believe me."

"Okay..." Angie said suspiciously.

"Well..." Luna blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she thought about how she wanted to say it. "Alright, do you remember that old movie that we used to watch around Christmas? The one about Jack Frost, where he wanted to become human because he fell in love?"

"...Yes..." answered Angie, having no idea where this was headed.

"Well... Jack Frost is real," said Luna. "And he's standing right next to me." Angie's eyes searched the spot beside her sister, but saw nothing.

"Luna, are you okay?" she said skeptically.

"Yes! Listen Angie, you _need_ to believe me. That's the only way you'll be able to see him. Just... believe." When Angie still didn't see him, Luna tried something else.

"Jack, do something," she said. "Anything to make her see." A moment of silence passed, then the wind began to pick up. The cold air nipped at Angie's exposed face. Then she felt the gentle tapping of fat snowflakes landing in her hair. But as she looked to Luna, she realized that it was only snowing around her. She heard a light _crackle_ and looked down to find that a sheet of ice was creeping its way toward her, encasing the snowy ground beneath her. The wind blew even harder, and Angie gasped as her hat flew off of her head. She looked to Luna.

"See? Who else could be doing this?"

One by one, frost bloomed on every tree around them, and the snow got heavier. Angie breathed deeply and let her eyes dart from tree to tree until, finally, they rested on a young boy with white hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

Once Jack was sure that Angie was looking at him and not through him, he let the air go still.

"Angie," Luna said. "Meet Jack Frost."

**I know, I know. Another long wait. But with the new school year starting, everything's been pretty chaotic. Most of my time has been spent doing homework...so...much...homework... *shivers***

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, guys. Love you all! Hopefully the next few chapters will be a bit longer, so just hang in there! TTFN!**


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